Ullasam 2022

Guru, Basil Joseph, grows up in the orbit of JK, a ruthless arms-trafficking crime boss, and lives next to Thangaiah, a government bus driver who will later become the father figure to Guru’s rival and protector in disguise. As a child, Guru is drawn to JK’s world and soon imitates his boss’s rough edges, even witnessing a murder and choosing to cover it up rather than expose JK. This act pulls Guru into JK’s orbit, where JK effectively raises him as a protégé, blurring the lines between mentorship and manipulation. Meanwhile, JK’s biological son Dev is raised by his grandmother, who fears the life JK leads and hopes for a different path for her grandson. She reaches out to Guru’s mother to help shape Dev’s future, encouraging a gentler influence through music and education. This fragile balance sets up a tension-filled dynamic: Guru’s unwavering loyalty to JK and Dev’s innate musical gift, nurtured by a well-meaning grandmother.

In college, the two worlds diverge and almost collide. Dev emerges as a popular singer with a boyish charm and a devoted following, while Guru becomes known as a skilled dancer and a hood who quietly helps JK move his illicit business forward. Despite the overlapping households and shared history, the two young men maintain a practical, if uneasy, understanding rather than a close bond. Enter Megha, a new student returning from America who befriends Dev. Megha’s direct clashes with Guru reveal her disapproval of JK’s criminal activities, even as she is impressed by Dev’s music. Her admiration for Dev grows when she witnesses Megha’s respectful awe, and a lingering kiss on Dev’s hand leads him to imagine that she is in love with him. Megha’s curiosity about Guru grows when she joins Guru’s dance circle, influenced by a friend who recommends her to train with him. As Guru begins teaching Megha, their interactions gradually deepen into romance, and Megha sees a chance for Guru to leave violence behind.

Megha’s faith in Guru’s reform is tested by the harsh realities of JK’s world. When Guru is assaulted by JK’s rivals and then jailed, Megha resolves to pull away from the man she’s come to care for and to understand the forces driving his brutality. Thangaiah, distressed by the path his son is taking and the erosion of Guru’s humanity, confronts JK about the life he is shaping for both of them. Megha, sensing that Guru’s past and his loyalty to JK threaten his future, withdraws to focus on Dev and his art. Yet devotion to Guru remains a part of Megha’s journey, and she continues to press him to abandon violence for something truer to his better self. Guru, caught between love and loyalty, makes a faltering promise to reform, a promise that becomes the fulcrum on which the film’s emotional gravity turns.

The turning point arrives when JK tasks Guru with a dangerous job: smuggling diamonds known as “Blue Jager.” Guru accepts, hoping the assignment will test his resolve and provide him a path out of the violent cycle. He hides the diamonds in a bus to slip past JK’s rivals, Dhamodharan’s goons, but the plan quickly spirals. Dhamodharan captures one of JK’s men, Gundurao, and grows suspicious about the diamonds’ whereabouts. Meanwhile Megha, who has begun to worry about Guru’s trajectory, calls JK to declare that Guru will no longer work under him. Her call, coupled with the chase that ensues, reveals a painful truth: Guru’s life has become a web of double loyalties that threaten the people he loves.

In a tense sequence, Thangaiah drives the bus carrying the diamonds, only to be intercepted by Dhamodharan’s men. A gunfight erupts as Dev arrives to help, rescuing the passengers and Thangaiah, though the elder man suffers a head injury in the process. Dev’s courage tests JK’s view that violence is necessary to protect family and ambition. After the dust settles, Dev hands the diamonds to JK, criticizing the elder man’s methods and urging him not to harm Guru for the sake of money or a rival gang. The hospital scene is pivotal: Thangaiah reads Dev’s heartfelt letter to Megha and realizes the depth of Dev’s love for her. This moment intensifies the familial bonds and forces Guru to re-evaluate his own choices, prompting him to distance himself from Megha for her safety and happiness.

Thangaiah’s intervention and Dev’s moral stance spark a tentative shift: JK begins to consider reform for Guru’s sake, and Guru himself begins to entertain a life away from violence. Yet the cycle is not broken. Chatterjee—a manipulator with his own schemes—wheels into the story, steering Guru toward even more dangerous schemes under the pretense of giving him the power to withstand Megha’s desire for distance. Guru agrees, hoping that Megha will come to despise him, a cruel irony born of longing and the need to protect her from his world. Megha, meanwhile, seeks JK’s help to be reconciled with Guru, not realizing that Guru’s loyalties have shifted toward Chatterjee’s plans. The reformed JK, sensing the damage caused by his past choices, resolves to set things right in Guru’s life, even if it means relying on Dev’s quiet support to reunite the couple.

Dev’s own feelings become a quiet subplot that informs the larger moral arc. He is shocked to learn that Megha loves Guru, and he chooses to step aside, offering his blessing and support rather than clashing with the two people he cares about. The dynamics of loyalty and sacrifice deepen as Chatterjee’s machinations escalate. He manipulates Guru into smuggling drugs without Guru fully understanding the scope of the operation, while Megha withdraws from the country in despair and contemplates returning to America. JK intervenes again, insisting that Guru reforms, and the revelation that Guru’s violence has been driven at least in part by his longing to distance himself from Megha adds a bitter complexity: Guru’s own actions have, in some sense, served to distance Megha from him.

In a climactic convergence, Chatterjee tries to stop JK from delivering the drugs, and in a dramatic turn, he abducts Megha at the airport. Dev and Guru race to intervene, culminating in a high-stakes chase and a decisive shootout that ends with Chatterjee’s arrest by the police. In the aftermath, Guru and Megha are finally reunited, and Megha asks Dev about his own heart. Dev offers a cryptic hint, suggesting a dream rather than a confession, and leaves the door open for a future that doesn’t rely on old loyalties. The story closes with a sense of hopeful resolve: Dev steps away with quiet grace, wishing Guru and Megha a brighter future, while Guru commits to leaving his violent life behind for the sake of love.

The narrative stays faithful to its core themes of loyalty, redemption, and the cost of violence, while offering a textured look at how family ties, friendship, and romance intersect with crime and power. It tracks the way ambition and affection tug at the same people from childhood into adulthood, forcing choices that redefine who they are and what they value most. The result is a sprawling, emotionally resonant saga that remains grounded in its characters’ human needs—love, acceptance, and a chance at a peaceful life—despite the tumultuous world surrounding them.